Information processing apparatus, information processing method, program, history management server, history management method, and information processing system

ABSTRACT

Provided is an information processing apparatus including a selected information acquisition unit for acquiring, from a history management server managing, for each search string, one or more pieces of selected information selected from one or more pieces of page identification information obtained by using the search string, selected information matching a selected string, and a display control unit for performing control such that information regarding a page identified by the selected information acquired by the selected information acquisition unit is displayed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/434,225 (filed on Mar. 29, 2012), which claims priority to JapanesePatent Application No. 2011-084649 (filed on Apr. 6, 2011), which areall hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus,an information processing method, a program, a history managementserver, a history management method, and an information processingsystem.

In recent years, with the spread of the Internet, users are enabled tosearch with ease for pages related to a specified string on the Internetby using their own PCs (Personal Computer) or the like. Varioustechnologies are disclosed as the technology for searching, on theInternet, for a page related to a string specified by a user (forexample, see 2007-219615A). A user is assumed to specify various stringsas the string used for a search, and, for example, when there is anunfamiliar term in a page that is currently being viewed or there is aterm desired to be further looked up, a user is assumed to specify theterm as the string used for a search.

When a search is performed using a string specified in this manner, apage acquired by the search is expected to include an explanation on theterm, and the user can grasp the meaning of the term by viewing thisexplanation.

SUMMARY

However, no method is disclosed of reducing, at the time of a userperforming a search using a string present on a page, the burden such asan operation of inputting the string, the operation of starting a searchor the like. Thus, a method is desired of reducing the burden arisingwhen performing a search using a string present on a page.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided an informationprocessing apparatus which includes a selected information acquisitionunit for acquiring, from a history management server managing, for eachsearch string, one or more pieces of selected information selected fromone or more pieces of page identification information obtained by usingthe search string, selected information matching a selected string, anda display control unit for performing control such that informationregarding a page identified by the selected information acquired by theselected information acquisition unit is displayed.

Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus which includes a page identificationinformation acquisition unit for acquiring, from a search server, one ormore pieces of page identification information matching a search string,a page selection unit for selecting page identification information fromthe one or more pieces of page identification information acquired bythe page identification information acquisition unit, and a transmissioncontrol unit for performing control such that the search string and thepage identification information selected by the page selection unit aretransmitted to a history management server.

Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, there is provided ahistory management server which includes a storage unit storing, foreach search string, one or more pieces of selected information selectedfrom one or more pieces of page identification information obtained byusing the search string, a selected information acquisition unit foracquiring, from the storage unit, selected information matching aselected string acquired from an information processing apparatus, and atransmission control unit for performing control such that the selectedinformation acquired by the selected information acquisition unit istransmitted to the information processing apparatus.

Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aninformation processing system which includes a history management serverincluding a storage unit storing, for each search string, one or morepieces of selected information selected from one or more pieces of pageidentification information obtained by using the search string, aselected information acquisition unit for acquiring, from the storageunit, selected information matching a selected string, and atransmission control unit for performing control such that the selectedinformation acquired by the selected information acquisition unit istransmitted, and an information processing apparatus including aselected information acquisition unit for acquiring the selectedinformation from the history management server, and a display controlunit for performing control such that information regarding a pageidentified by the selected information acquired by the selectedinformation acquisition unit is displayed.

According to the present disclosure, the burden arising when performinga search using a string present on a page can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information processingsystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a firstterminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example screen displayed by the firstterminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of ahistory management server according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example structure of history informationmanaged by the history management server according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a secondterminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example screen displayed by the secondterminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example screen displayed by the secondterminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example screen displayed by the secondterminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an operation performed at the time ofaccumulation of history information by the information processing systemaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an operation performed at the time of asearch by the information processing system according to the embodiment;and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of aninformation processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that,in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elementsthat have substantially the same function and configuration are denotedwith the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of thesestructural elements is omitted.

Also, in this specification and the drawings, a plurality of structuralelements having substantially the same functional configuration may bedistinguished from each other by each having a different letter added tothe same reference numeral. For example, a plurality of elements havingsubstantially the same functional configuration are distinguished fromeach other as necessary as terminals 100A and 100B. However, if it isnot particularly necessary to distinguish each of a plurality ofstructural elements having substantially the same functionalconfiguration, only the same reference numeral is assigned. For example,if it is not particularly necessary to distinguish between the terminals100A and 100B, they are simply referred to as the terminal(s) 100.

Additionally, an explanation will be given in the following order.

1. Embodiment

1.1. Configuration of information Processing System

1.2. Function of First Terminal

1.3. Function of History Management Server

1.4. Function of Second Terminal

1.5. Operation of Information Processing System

1.6. Hardware Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus

2. Summary 1. Embodiment

[1.1. Configuration of Information Processing System]

First, a configuration of an information processing system according toan embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with referenceto FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, an information processing system 10according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes terminals100A and 100B, a history management server 200, and a search server 300.The terminals 100A and 100B, the history management server 200, and thesearch server 300 are capable of communication via a network 400.Additionally, the number of the terminals 100, the history managementservers 200, and the search servers 300 is not particularly limited.

The terminal 100A is a terminal used by a user A, for example. Theterminal 100A transmits a string used for a search (hereinafter, alsoreferred to as a “search string”) to the search server 300, and acquiresa search result from the search server 300, for example. The searchresult is formed from one or more pieces of page identificationinformation. The terminal 100A selects a piece of page identificationinformation from the search result, and acquires a page identified bythe selected page identification information. The page identificationinformation selected by the terminal 100A (hereinafter, also referred toas the “selected information”) and the search string are transmitted tothe history management server 200 as history information.

The page may be a document written in an HTML (HyperText MarkupLanguage) format, or it may be text data, for example. In a case theInternet is used as the network 400, a Web page may be used as the page,for example. Also, as the page identification information, an URL(Uniform Resource Locator) of the page can be used, for example.

The search server 300 is a server capable of searching for a page basedon a string acquired from the terminal 100A and returning pageidentification information acquired by the search to the terminal 100A.The history management server 200 is a server capable of managinghistory information transmitted from the terminal 100A. Also, when astring selected by the terminal 100B (hereinafter, also referred to asthe “selected string”) is received, the history management server 200acquires selected information matching the selected string from thehistory information, and returns the acquired selected information tothe terminal 100B.

The terminal 100B is a terminal used by a user B, for example. Theterminal 100B transmits a selected string to the history managementserver 200, and acquires selected information matching the selectedstring from the history management server 200. The terminal 100Bperforms control such that information regarding a page identified bythe acquired selected information is displayed. Here, an explanation isgiven assuming that the user A and the user B are different users, butthe user A and the user B may be the same user.

[1.2. Function of First Terminal]

Next, a function of the terminal 100A according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of theterminal 100A according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Asshown in FIG. 2, the terminal 100A includes an input unit 110A, acontrol unit 120A, a storage unit 130A, a display unit 140A and acommunication unit 150A.

The input unit 110A has a function of receiving input of operationinformation from the user A. The input unit 110A outputs the operationinformation, input of which has been received from the user A, to thecontrol unit 120A. The input unit 110A is configured from an inputdevice, for example. The display unit 140A has a function of displayingvarious types of information under the control of the control unit 120A.The display unit 140A is configured from a display device, for example.

The communication unit 150A has a function of communicating with thehistory management server 200 and the search server 300 under thecontrol of the control unit 120A. The communication unit 150A isconfigured from a communication device, for example, and may function asa transmission unit and a reception unit. The storage unit 130A has afunction of storing various types of information to be used by thecontrol unit 120A. The storage unit 130A is configured from a storagedevice, for example.

The control unit 120A has a function of controlling the entire operationof the terminal 100A, and is capable of controlling the operation of theterminal 100A based on operation information output from the input unit110A, information received by the communication unit 150A, and the like,for example. The control unit 120A includes a page identificationinformation acquisition unit 1211, a page selection unit 1212, a pageacquisition unit 1213, a transmission control unit 1214, a displaycontrol unit 1215 and the like. The function of each of these functionalblocks will be described later in detail. Additionally; the control unit120A is configured from a CPU, a ROM and a RAM, for example.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example screen displayed by the terminal100A according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The pageidentification information acquisition unit 1211 acquires, from thesearch server 300, one or more pieces of page identification informationmatching a search string. To be more specific, when input of operationinformation indicating to the effect that a search screen 1400 is to bedisplayed is received by the input unit 110A, the display control unit1215 controls the display unit 140A to display the search screen 1400.When input of a search string in a string input box 1401 and input ofoperation information indicating press down of a search button 1402 arereceived by the input unit 110A, the communication unit 150A transmitsthe search string to the search server 300. The page identificationinformation acquisition unit 1211 acquires, as the search result by thesearch server 300, one or more pieces of page identification informationmatching the search string.

The display control unit 1215 controls the display unit 140A to display,on a search result screen 1410, information 1411 regarding a pageidentified by each of the one or more pieces of page identificationinformation acquired by the page identification information acquisitionunit 1211. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the page identificationinformation itself is displayed as the information 1411 regarding a pageidentified by each of the one or more pieces of page identificationinformation acquired by the page identification information acquisitionunit 1211. However, the information 1411 regarding a page is not limitedto the page identification information itself, and it may be a thumbnailimage of a page or certain information describing a page.

The page selection unit 1212 selects page identification informationfrom the one or more pieces of page identification information acquiredby the page identification information acquisition unit 1211. To be morespecific, when input of operation information indicating selection isreceived by the input unit 110A, the page selection unit 1212 selects apiece of page identification information from the one or more pieces ofpage identification information based on the operation information, andthe page acquisition unit 1213 acquires a page identified by theselected page identification information. The display control unit 1215controls the display unit 140A to display the page acquired by the pageacquisition unit 1213 as a selected page screen 1420.

The transmission control unit 1214 controls the communication unit 150Ato transmit the search string and the page identification informationselected by the page selection unit 1212 to the history managementserver 200. The transmission control unit 1214 may also control thecommunication unit 150A to further transmit a stay time of the user A atthe page acquired by the page acquisition unit 1213 to the historymanagement server 200.

In this case, for example, when input of operation informationindicating screen transition is received by the input unit 110A, thedisplay control unit 1215 performs control such that transition is madeto an after-transition screen 1430, and the transmission control unit1214 controls the communication unit 150A to transmit, to the historymanagement server 200, as the stay time, the time from the selection ofthe page identification information by the page selection unit 1212 tothe reception of the operation information indicating screen transitionby the input unit 110A.

[1.3. Function of History Management Server]

Next, a function of the history management server 200 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functionalconfiguration of the history management server 200 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the historymanagement server 200 includes a control unit 220, a communication unit250 and a storage unit 260.

The communication unit 250 has a function of communicating with theterminals 100A and 100B under the control of the control unit 220. Thecommunication unit 250 is configured from a communication device, forexample, and may function as a transmission unit and a reception unit.The storage unit 260 has a function of storing various types ofinformation to be used by the control unit 220, and has a function ofstoring, for each search string, one or more pieces of selectedinformation selected from one or more pieces of page identificationinformation obtained by using the search string. The storage unit 260 isconfigured from a storage device, for example.

The control unit 220 has a function of controlling the entire operationof the history management server 200, and is capable of controlling theoperation of the history management server 200 based on informationreceived by the communication unit 250, for example. The control unit220 includes an information acquisition unit 221, a memory control unit222, a selected string acquisition unit 223, a selected informationacquisition unit 224, a transmission control unit 225 and the like. Thefunction of each of these functional blocks will be described later indetail. Additionally, the control unit 220 is configured from a CPU, aROM and a RAM, for example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example structure of history information261 managed by the history management server 200 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the historyinformation 261 includes a search string and an URL, which is an exampleof page identification information. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, thehistory information 261 may also include the number of times ofselection, a stay time and the like. The information acquisition unit221 has a function of acquiring a search string and page identificationinformation from the terminal 100A.

In the case a combination of a search string and page identificationinformation acquired by the information acquisition unit 221 is not yetregistered in the history information 261, the memory control unit 222registers the combination of the search string and the pageidentification information in the history information 261. In this case,the memory control unit 222 sets the number of times of selection forthis combination to “1.” Furthermore, in the case the stay time isfurther acquired by the information acquisition unit 221, the memorycontrol unit 222 sets the stay time acquired by the informationacquisition unit 221 as the stay time for this combination.

In the case the combination of the search string and the pageidentification information acquired by the information acquisition unit221 is already registered in the history information 261, the memorycontrol unit 222 does not have to register the combination of the searchstring and the page identification information in the historyinformation 261. In this case, the memory control unit 222 adds “1” tothe number of times of selection for this combination. Furthermore, inthe case the stay time is further acquired by the informationacquisition unit 221, the memory control unit 222 adds the stay timeacquired by the information acquisition unit 221 to the stay time forthis combination.

The selected string acquisition unit 223 has a function of acquiring aselected string from the terminal 100B. The selected informationacquisition unit 224 has a function of acquiring, from the storage unit260, selected information matching the selected string acquired from theterminal 100B by the selected string acquisition unit 223. To be morespecific, the selected information acquisition unit 224 acquires, fromthe history information 261, as the selected information, an URL (anexample of page identification information) that is related to a searchstring that is identical or that is similar to the selected stringacquired from the terminal 100B by the selected string acquisition unit223. A search string that is similar to the selected string may be asearch string including the whole of the selected string or it may be asearch string including a part of the selected string.

The selected information acquisition unit 224 may also further acquire,from the history information 261, the selected string, and the number oftimes of selection and the stay time related to the selectedinformation. The transmission control unit 225 controls thecommunication unit 250 to transmit the selected information acquired bythe selected information acquisition unit 224 to the terminal 100B.Furthermore, a case is also conceivable where there are a plurality ofpieces of selected information matching the selected string acquired bythe selected string acquisition unit 223 from the terminal 100B.

In the case there are a plurality of pieces of selected informationmatching the selected string acquired by the selected string acquisitionunit 223 from the terminal 100B, the transmission control unit 225 maycontrol the communication unit 250 to further transmit the number oftimes of selection acquired by the selected information acquisition unit224 to the terminal 100B. Alternatively, the transmission control unit225 may control the communication unit 250 to transmit the rankregarding the number of times of selection to the terminal 100B.Alternatively, the transmission control unit 225 may determine selectedinformation with the largest number of times of selection, and controlthe communication unit 250 to transmit the selected information with thelargest number of times of selection.

Furthermore, in the case there are a plurality of pieces of selectedinformation matching the selected string acquired by the selected stringacquisition unit 223 from the terminal 100B, the transmission controlunit 225 may control the communication unit 250 to transmit the averagestay time that is obtained by dividing the stay time by the number oftimes of selection to the terminal 100B. Alternatively, the transmissioncontrol unit 225 may determine selected information with the longestaverage stay time, and control the communication unit 250 to transmitthe selected information with the longest average stay time.

[1.4. Function of Second Terminal]

Next, a function of the terminal 100B according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9.FIG, 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of theterminal 100B according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Asshown in FIG. 6, the terminal 100B includes an input unit 110B, acontrol unit 120B, a storage unit 130B, a display unit 140B and acommunication unit 150B.

The input unit 110B has a function of receiving input of operationinformation from the user B. The input unit 110B outputs the operationinformation, input of which has been received from the user B, to thecontrol unit 120B. The input unit 110B is configured from an inputdevice, for example. The display unit 140B has a function of displayingvarious types of information under the control of the control unit 120B.The display unit 140B is configured from a display device, for example.

The communication unit 150B has a function of communicating with thehistory management server 200 and the search server 300 under thecontrol of the control unit 120B. The communication unit 150B isconfigured from a communication device, for example, and may function asa transmission unit and a reception unit. The storage unit 130B has afunction of storing various types of information to be used by thecontrol unit 120B. The storage unit 130B is configured from a storagedevice, for example.

The control unit 120B has a function of controlling the entire operationof the terminal 100B, and is capable of controlling the operation of theterminal 100B based on the operation information output from the inputunit 110B, information received by the communication unit 150B, and thelike, for example. The control unit 120B includes a string selectionunit 1216, a selected information acquisition unit 1217, a pageselection unit 1218, a page acquisition unit 1219, a display controlunit 1220 and the like. The function of each of these functional blockswill be described later in detail. Additionally, the control unit 120Ais configured from a CPU, a ROM and a RAM, for example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example screen displayed by the terminal100B according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. A page 1440shown in FIG. 7 is a page searched and acquired by the search server 300in response to a request from the control unit 120B, for example, andthe page 1440 is displayed on the display unit 140B under the control ofthe display control unit 1220. if an obscure string is present on thepage 1440, for example, the user B would want to look up the obscurestring and input, to the input unit 110B, operation information forspecifying the obscure string.

The string selection unit 1216 selects a string included in the page1440 as a selected string based on operation information input to theinput unit 110B by the user B, for example. In the case a mouse is usedas the input unit 110B, when a click or a double-click on a stringincluded in the page 1440 is received by the input unit 110B, the stringselection unit 1216 can select the string as the selected string, forexample.

The selected information acquisition unit 1217 acquires selectedinformation matching the selected string from the history managementserver 200. The display control unit 1220 performs control such thatinformation 1442 regarding a page identified by the selected informationacquired by the selected information acquisition unit 1217 is displayed.In the example shown in FIG. 7, the display control unit 1220 controlsthe display unit 140B to display, as the information 1442 regarding apage, information 1442A for describing the page. In the example shown inFIG. 7, the information 1442 for describing the page includes theselected string, lines describing the selected string, an image relatedto the selected string, and the like.

Additionally, the information 1442 regarding the page may be stored inthe storage unit 130B of the terminal 100B, or may be acquired togetherwith the page 1440 by the search by the search server 300. Also, theinformation 1442 regarding the page may be acquired from another serverthat is not shown in the drawing. The position at which the information1442 regarding the page is displayed may he within or outside the page1440.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example screen displayed by the terminal100B according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. As with thepage 1440 shown in FIG. 7, a page 1440 shown in FIG. 8 is a pagesearched and acquired by the search server 300 in response to a requestfrom the control unit 120B, for example, and the page 1440 is displayedon the display unit 140B under the control of the display control unit1220. As in the case shown in FIG. 7, the string selection unit 1216selects a string included in the page 1440 as the selected string basedon operation information input to the input unit 110B by the user B, forexample.

As in the case shown in FIG. 7, the selected information acquisitionunit 1217 acquires, from the history management server 200, selectedinformation matching the selected string, The display control unit 1220performs control such that information 1442 regarding a page identifiedby the selected information acquired by the selected informationacquisition unit 1217 is displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 8, thedisplay control unit 1220 controls the display unit 140B to display, asthe information 1442 regarding a page, a thumbnail image 1442B of thepage.

FIG, 9 is a diagram showing an example screen displayed by the terminal100B according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. As with thepage 1440 shown in FIG. 7, a page 1440 shown in FIG. 9 is a pagesearched and acquired by the search server 300 in response to a requestfrom the control unit 120B, for example, and the page 1440 is displayedon the display unit 140B under the control of the display control unit1220. As in the case shown in FIG. 7, the string selection unit 1216selects a string included in the page 1440 as the selected string basedon operation information input to the input unit 110B by the user B, forexample.

As in the case shown in FIG. 7, the selected information acquisitionunit 1217 acquires, from the history management server 200, selectedinformation matching the selected string. The display control unit 1220performs control such that information 1442 regarding a page identifiedby the selected information acquired by the selected informationacquisition unit 1217 is displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 9, thedisplay control unit 1220 controls the display unit 140B to display, asthe information 1442 regarding a page, page identification information1442C for identifying the page.

Additionally, the selected information acquisition unit 1217 may acquireselected information with the largest number of times of selection,determined among one or more pieces or selected information acquiredfrom the history management server 200. The selected information withthe largest number of times of selection may be determined by thehistory management server 200 or may be determined by the selectedinformation acquisition unit 1217. Also, the selected informationacquisition unit 1217 may acquire selected information with the longestaverage stay time, determined among one or more pieces of selectedinformation acquired from the history management server 200. Theselected information with the longest average stay time may bedetermined by the history management server 200 or may be determined bythe selected information acquisition unit 1217.

The selected information acquisition unit 1217 may also acquire,together with the one or more pieces of selected information matchingthe selected string, the rank regarding the number of times of selectionof each of the one or more pieces of selected information. In this case,the display control unit 1220 may control the display unit 140B todisplay the information 1442 regarding a page identified by the one ormore pieces of selected information acquired by the selected informationacquisition unit 1217 in the order according to the rank of each of theone or more pieces of selected information. The rank regarding thenumber of times of selection of each of the one or more pieces ofselected information may be acquired from the history management server200 or may be calculated by the selected information acquisition unit1217 based on the number of times of selection of each of the one ormore pieces of selected information.

The selected information acquisition unit 1217 may acquire, togetherwith the one or more pieces of selected information matching theselected string, the rank regarding the average stay time at a pageidentified by each of the one or more pieces of selected information. Inthis case, the display control unit 1220 may control the display unit140B to display the information 1442 regarding a page identified by theone or more pieces of selected information acquired by the selectedinformation acquisition unit 1217 in the order according to the rank ofeach of the one or more pieces of selected information. The rankregarding the average stay time at each of the one or more pieces ofselected information may be acquired from the history management server200 or may be calculated by the selected information acquisition unit1217 based on the average stay time at each of the one or more pieces ofselected information.

Additionally, if the ranks are calculated by the history managementserver 200, an effect is obtained that the burden on the terminal 100Bcan be reduced. Also, if the ranks are calculated by the historymanagement server 200, an effect is obtained that the history managementserver 200 can remove page identification information (for example, anURL) for identifying a page that no longer exists from the historyinformation 261.

Furthermore, if the ranks are calculated by the selected informationacquisition unit 1217 of the terminal 100B, an effect is obtained that arule for performing ranking (for example, a rule for deciding whether toperforming ranking using the average stay time or the number of times ofselection) can be determined for each user using the terminal 100.

Referring back to FIG. 6, we will continue with the explanation. Thepage selection unit 1218 can select one piece of selected informationfrom one or more pieces of selected information acquired by the selectedinformation acquisition unit 1217. To be more specific, when input ofoperation information indicating selection is received by the input unit110B, the page selection unit 1218 selects one piece of selectedinformation from the one or more pieces of selected information based onthe operation information. The page acquisition unit 1219 can acquire apage identified by the selected information which has been selected. Thedisplay control unit 1220 can also control the display unit 140B todisplay the page acquired by the page acquisition unit 1219.

[1.5. Operation of Information Processing System]

Next, an operation of the information processing system 10 according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure will be described withreference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing anoperation performed at the time of accumulation of history informationby the information processing system 10 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure. Additionally, an explanation will be giventaking an URL as an example of the page identification information.

As shown in FIG. 10, the page identification information acquisitionunit 1211 of the terminal 100A acquires a search string (step S101), andcontrols the communication unit 150A to transmit the acquired searchstring to the search server 300 (step S102). The search server 300receives the search string from the terminal 100A (step S103), andperforms a search using the received search string (step S104). Thesearch server 300 transmits an URL acquired by the search to theterminal 100A (step S105).

The page identification information acquisition unit 1211 of theterminal 100A acquires the URL received from the search server 300 bythe communication unit 150A (step S106), and the page selection unit1212 selects the URL (step S107). Then, the page acquisition unit 1213acquires a page specified by the URL selected by the page selection unit1212 (step S108). When input of transition operation is received by theinput unit 110A (step S109), the transmission control unit 1214 controlsthe communication unit 150B to transmit the search string, the URLselected by the page selection unit 1212 and the stay time to thehistory management server 200. The stay time does not have to betransmitted to the history management server 200.

The information acquisition unit 221 of the history management server200 acquires the search string, the URL and the stay time received bythe communication unit 250 (step S11), and the memory control unit 222updates the history information 261 by the search string, the URL andthe stay time acquired by the information acquisition unit 221 (stepS112). The page acquisition unit 1213 acquires a page which is atransition destination (step S113). The display control unit 1215 canalso control the display unit 140A to display the page, which is atransition destination, acquired by the page acquisition unit 1213.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an operation performed at the time of asearch by the information processing system 10 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure. Additionally, an explanation willbe given taking an URL as an example of the page identificationinformation.

As shown in FIG. 11, the string selection unit 1216 of the terminal 100Bselects a string from a page as a selected string (step S201), and theselected information acquisition unit 1217 controls the communicationunit 150B to transmit the selected string to the history managementserver 200 (step S202). The selected string acquisition unit 223 of thehistory management server 200 acquires the selected string received fromthe terminal 100B by the communication unit 250 (step S203), and theselected information acquisition unit 224 acquires, from the historyinformation 261, an URL matching the selected string which has beenacquired (step S204).

As has been described, the selected information acquisition unit 224 canalso acquire the URL, taking into consideration the average stay time,the number of times of selection or the like. The transmission controlunit 225 controls the communication unit 250 to transmit the URLacquired by the selected information acquisition unit 224 to theterminal 100B (step S205). The selected information acquisition unit1217 of the terminal 100B acquires the URL received by the communicationunit 150B (step S206), and the display control unit 1220 controls thedisplay unit 1401 to display information regarding a page specified bythe URL acquired by the selected information acquisition unit 1217 (stepS207).

The page selection unit 1218 selects the URL acquired by the selectedinformation acquisition unit 1217 (step S208), and the page acquisitionunit 1219 acquires the page specified by the URL selected by the pageselection unit 1218 (step S209). The display control unit 1220 can alsocontrol the display unit 140B to display the page acquired by the pageacquisition unit 1219.

[1.6. Hardware Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus]

Next, a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatusaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a hardwareconfiguration of an information processing apparatus according to theembodiment of the present disclosure.

In the example described above, the terminal 100, the history managementserver 200 and the search server 300 correspond to the informationprocessing apparatus. These information processing apparatuses mainlyinclude a CPU 901, a ROM 902, a RAM 903, a host bus 904, a bridge 905,an external bus 906, an interface 907, an input device 908, an outputdevice 910, a storage device 911, a drive 912 and a communication device913.

The CPU 901 functions as an arithmetic processing unit and a controlunit, and controls entire operation or a part of operation of theinformation processing apparatus according to various programs recordedon the ROM 902, the RAM 903, the storage device 911, or a removablerecording medium 800. The ROM 902 stores programs to be used by the CPU901, arithmetic parameters and the like. The RAM 903 temporarily storesprograms to be used in the execution of the CPU 901, parameters thatvary as appropriate in the execution, and the like. These are connectedto each other by the host bus 904 configured from an internal bus suchas a CPU bus.

The host bus 904 is connected through the bridge 905 to the external bus906 such as a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect/Interface) bus.

The input device 908 is input means to be operated by a user, such as amouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, a button, a switch, a lever or thelike. Further, the input device 908 may be remote control means thatuses an infrared or another radio wave, or it may be anexternally-connected appliance such as a mobile phone, a PDA or the likeconforming to the operation of the information processing apparatus.Furthermore, the input device 908 is configured from an input controlcircuit or the like for generating an input signal based on informationinput by a user with the operation means described above and outputtingthe signal to the CPU 901. A user of the information processingapparatus can input various kinds of data to the information processingapparatus or instruct the information processing apparatus to performprocessing, by operating the input device 908.

The output device 910 is configured from a device that is capable ofvisually or auditorily notifying a user of acquired information, such asa display device such as a CRT display device, a liquid crystal displaydevice, a plasma display device, an EL display device or a lamp, anaudio output device such as a speaker or a headphone, a printer, amobile phone, a facsimile and the like. The output device 910 outputsresults obtained by various processes performed by the informationprocessing apparatus, for example. To be specific, the display devicedisplays, in the form of text or image, results obtained by variousprocesses performed by the information processing apparatus. On theother hand, the audio output device converts an audio signal such asreproduced audio data or acoustic data into an analogue signal, andoutputs the analogue signal.

The storage device 911 is a device for storing data configured as anexample of a storage unit of the information processing apparatus, andis configured from, for example, a magnetic storage device such as a HDD(Hard Disk Drive), a semiconductor storage device, an optical storagedevice, or a magneto-optical storage device. This storage device 911stores programs to be executed by the CPU 901, various types of data,and acoustic signal data, image signal data and the like acquired fromthe outside.

The drive 912 is a reader/writer for a recording medium, and isincorporated in or attached externally to the information processingapparatus. The drive 912 reads information recorded in the attachedremovable recording medium 800 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk,a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, and outputs theinformation to the RAM 903. Furthermore, the drive 912 can write in theattached removable recording medium 800 such as a magnetic disk, anoptical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory. Theremovable recording medium 800 is, for example, a DVD medium, an HD-DVDmedium, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) medium, a CompactFlash (CF;registered trademark), a memory stick, or an SD memory card (SecureDigital Memory Card). Alternatively, the removable recording medium 800may be, for example, an electronic appliance or an IC card (IntegratedCircuit Card) equipped with a non-contact IC chip.

The communication device 913 is a communication interface configuredfrom, for example, a communication device for connecting to a network400. The communication device 913 is, for example, a wired or wirelessLAN (Local Area Network), a Bluetooth (registered trademark), acommunication card for WUSB (Wireless USB), a router for opticalcommunication, a router for ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line),or a modem for various communications. This communication device 913 cantransmit and receive acoustic signals and the like on the Internet andwith other communication devices, for example. The network 400 connectedto the communication device 913 is configured from a network or the likeconnected via wire or wirelessly, and may be, for example, the Internet,a home LAN, infrared communication, radio wave communication, orsatellite communication.

In the foregoing, an example of the hardware configuration capable ofrealizing the function of the information processing apparatus accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described. Eachstructural element described above may be configured from ageneral-purpose material or may be configured from hardware dedicated tothe function of each structural element. Accordingly, hardwareconfiguration to be used may be changed as appropriate according to thelevel of technology at the time of carrying out the embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

2. Summary

As described above, according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the history management server 200 manages, for each searchstring, one or more pieces of selected information selected from one ormore pieces of page identification information obtained by using thesearch string. Also, the terminal 100B acquires selected informationmatching the selected string, and performs control such that informationregarding a page identified by the selected information is displayed.Accordingly, the burden of performing a search using a string present ina page can be reduced.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, a page includingan explanation on an obscure string included in a page can beappropriately presented to a user, for example. A more appropriate pagecan be presented to a user as the amount of history information managedby the history management server 200 increases. Also, if pieces ofinformation regarding a plurality of pages are made to be presented to auser in a ranking format, the user can easily select a desired pagehimself/herself. Furthermore, the method according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure can be applied to any kind of page, and thus asearch operation by a user can be easily performed.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

For example, the steps of the processing of the information processingapparatus according to the present specification do not necessarily haveto be processed chronologically according to the order described as theflow chart. For example, the steps of the processing of the informationprocessing apparatus can also be processed in an order different fromthat described as the flow chart or may be processed in parallel.

Furthermore, a computer program for causing hardware, such as the CPU901, the ROM 902 or the RAM 903, embedded in the information processingapparatus to realize an equivalent function as each element of theinformation processing apparatus described above can also be created.Furthermore, a storage medium storing the computer program is alsoprovided.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

-   (1) An information processing apparatus including:

a selected information acquisition unit for acquiring, from a historymanagement server managing, for each search string, one or more piecesof selected information selected from one or more pieces of pageidentification information obtained by using the search string, selectedinformation matching a selected string; and

a display control unit for performing control such that informationregarding a page identified by the selected information acquired by theselected information acquisition unit is displayed.

-   (2) The information processing apparatus according to (1), further    including:

a string selection unit for selecting a string included in a page as theselected string.

-   (3) The information processing apparatus according to (1) or (2),

wherein the history management server further manages a number of timesof selection of each of the one or more pieces of selected information,and

wherein the selected information acquisition unit acquires selectedinformation with a largest number of times of selection, determinedamong the one or more pieces of selected information.

-   (4) The information processing apparatus according to (1) or (2),

wherein the history management server further manages an average staytime at a page identified by each of the one or more pieces of selectedinformation, and

wherein the selected information acquisition unit acquires selectedinformation with a longest average stay time, determined among the oneor more pieces of selected information.

-   (5) The information processing apparatus according to (1) or (2),

wherein the selected information acquisition unit acquires, togetherwith the one or more pieces of selected information matching theselected string, a rank regarding a number of times of selection of eachof the one or more pieces of selected information, and

wherein the display control unit performs control such that informationregarding a page identified by the one or more pieces of selectedinformation acquired by the selected information acquisition unit isdisplayed in an order according to the rank of each of the one or morepieces of selected information.

-   (6) The information processing apparatus according to (1) or (2),

wherein the selected information acquisition unit acquires, togetherwith the one or more pieces of selected information matching theselected string, a rank regarding an average stay time at a pageidentified by each of the one or more pieces of selected information,and

wherein the display control unit performs control such that informationregarding the page identified by each of the one or more pieces ofselected information acquired by the selected information acquisitionunit is displayed in an order according to the rank of each of the oneor more pieces of selected information.

-   (7) An information processing method including:

acquiring, from a history management server managing, for each searchstring, one or more pieces of selected information selected from one ormore pieces of page identification information obtained by using thesearch string, selected information matching a selected string; and

performing control such that information regarding a page identified bythe selected information which has been acquired is displayed.

(8) A program for causing a computer to function as an informationprocessing apparatus including:

a selected information acquisition unit for acquiring, from a historymanagement server managing, for each search string, one or more piecesof selected information selected from one or more pieces of pageidentification information obtained by using the search string, selectedinformation matching a selected string; and

a display control unit for performing control such that informationregarding a page identified by the selected information acquired by theselected information acquisition unit is displayed.

-   (9) An information processing apparatus including:

a page identification information acquisition unit for acquiring, from asearch server, one or more pieces of page identification informationmatching a search string;

a page selection unit for selecting page identification information fromthe one or more pieces of page identification information acquired bythe page identification information acquisition unit; and

a transmission control unit for performing control such that the searchstring and the page identification information selected by the pageselection unit are transmitted to a history management server.

-   (10) An information processing method including:

acquiring, from a search server, one or more pieces of pageidentification information matching a search string;

selecting page identification information from the one or more pieces ofpage identification information which have been acquired; and

performing control such that the search string and the pageidentification information are transmitted to a history managementserver.

-   (11) A program for causing a computer to function as an information    processing apparatus including:

a page identification information acquisition unit for acquiring, from asearch server, one or more pieces of page identification informationmatching a search string;

a page selection unit for selecting page identification information fromthe one or more pieces of page identification information acquired bythe page identification information acquisition unit; and

a transmission control unit for performing control such that the searchstring and the page identification information selected by the pageselection unit are transmitted to a history management server.

-   (12) A history management server including:

a storage unit storing, for each search string, one or more pieces ofselected information selected from one or more pieces of pageidentification information obtained by using the search string;

a selected information acquisition unit for acquiring, from the storageunit, selected information matching a selected string acquired from aninformation processing apparatus; and

a transmission control unit for performing control such that theselected information acquired by the selected information acquisitionunit is transmitted to the information processing apparatus.

-   (13) A history management method including:

storing, for each search string, one or more pieces of selectedinformation selected from one or more pieces of page identificationinformation obtained by using the search string;

acquiring, from the one or more pieces of page identificationinformation, selected information matching a selected string acquiredfrom an information processing apparatus; and

performing control such that the selected information which has beenacquired is transmitted to the information processing apparatus.

-   (14) An information processing system including:

a history management server including

-   -   a storage unit storing, for each search string, one or more        pieces of selected information selected from one or more pieces        of page identification information obtained by using the search        string,    -   a selected information acquisition unit for acquiring, from the        storage unit, selected information matching a selected string,        and    -   a transmission control unit for performing control such that the        selected information acquired by the selected information        acquisition unit is transmitted; and    -   an information processing apparatus including        -   a selected information acquisition unit for acquiring the            selected information from the history management server, and        -   a display control unit for performing control such that            information regarding a page identified by the selected            information acquired by the selected information acquisition            unit is displayed.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising:at least one processor configured to: acquire a search string input by auser; and control, based on the acquired search string, a screen todisplay both of a text search result and webpage information withoutacquiring further input by the user other than the acquired searchstring, wherein the text search result is associated with a currentwebpage displayed at a time when the at least one processor acquires thesearch string, and. wherein the webpage information is selected based onthe acquired search string and search history information that isassociated with a plurality of webpages.
 2. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to control the screen to display the webpageinformation that includes images of the plurality of webpages based onthe acquired search string and the search history information.
 3. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein theimages of the plurality of webpages include pieces of URL information ofthe plurality of webpages.
 4. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the images of the plurality of webpagesinclude thumbnail images of the plurality of webpages.
 5. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to control the screen todisplay the webpage information based on priorities of the plurality ofwebpages.
 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to associatethe acquired search string with the plurality of webpages, wherein thesearch history information includes a number of times of selection ofeach webpage of the plurality of webpages, wherein the priorities of theplurality of webpages are determined based on the number of times ofselection of each webpage of the plurality of webpages, and wherein theat least one processor is further configured to control the screen todisplay at least one webpage of the plurality of webpages that has thehighest priority among the plurality of webpages.
 7. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to control the screen to display piecesof information of each webpage of the plurality of webpages in order oftheir respective priorities.
 8. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim
 1. wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to acquire the search string by a click operation or a tapoperation performed on a text string in the current webpage.
 9. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to acquire the search stringby the click operation, and wherein the click operation comprises asingle click or a double click.
 10. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 8, wherein the screen is a touch screen, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to acquire the searchstring by the tap operation, wherein the tap operation comprises asingle tap or a double tap on the touch screen.
 11. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: send the acquired search string to aserver, and receive the webpage information which is selected by theserver based on the acquired search string and the search historyinformation.
 12. The information processing apparatus according to claim11, wherein the information processing apparatus comprises a system thatincludes the server and an information processing terminal that includesthe at least one processor and the screen.
 13. An information processingmethod, performed via at least one processor, the method comprising:acquiring a search string input by a user; selecting webpage informationbased on the acquired search string and search history information thatis associated with a plurality of webpages, and controlling, based onthe acquired search string, a screen to display both of a text searchresult and the webpage information without acquiring further input bythe user other than the acquired search string, wherein the text searchresult is associated with a current webpage displayed at a time when thesearch string is acquired.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium having embodied thereon a program, which when executed bya computer causes the computer to perform a method, the methodcomprising: acquiring a search string input by a user; selecting webpageinformation based on the acquired search string and search historyinformation that is associated with a plurality of webpages, andcontrolling, based on the acquired search string, a screen to displayboth of a text search result and the webpage information withoutacquiring further input by the user other than the acquired searchstring, wherein the text search result is associated with a currentwebpage displayed at a time when the search string is acquired.